Revolving last-holdeb



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY G. DE WITT, OF NAPANOCH, NEW YORK.

REVOLVING LAST-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 9,067, dated June 29, 1852.

To all whom it may cof/acera:

Be it known that I, HENRY G. DE WITT, of Napancch, in the county of Ulster and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Machine for Holding Lasts in Convenient Positions, while Boots or Shoes are Being Made on Them, which improvement I denominate De VVitts Revolving Last-Holder and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l, is a vertical longitudinal section of one of my improved revolving lastholders; showing a last placed on, and screwed to it, and also the manner in which the arm, upon which the toe of the last: rests, can be thrown out and in, so as to allow of a long or short last being secured in the same machine. Fig. 2, is a vertical section of one of the boxes on which the revolving shaft rests; this view shows the manner in which the boxes are screwed up or unscrewed, when it is desired to keep the shaft stationary or to allow of its being turned around to any desired position.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspending parts in each of the two figures.

The nature of my invention consists in the employment of a horizontal revolving stock secured in suitable bearings resting on the top of a bench or table, the crank or arm of which having a thimble or collar cast on its lower or curved end; for the purpose of receiving the small or taper, and screwed end of a revolving last holder, which is secured firmly to the arm, by means of a nut and screw. This nut and screw regulates the position of the holder and last; for by unscrewing the nut the last and holder can be moved around to any desired position and secured rmly in said position for any length of time by screwing up the nut. A screw passes up vertically through one of the prongs or standards of this forked shaped last holder, and also into the upper part of the last near the heel, and secures it firmly to the said standard or prong while the boot or shoe is being made. An adjust-- able arm having a suitable rest for the toe of the last to be placed upon, is attached to the other prong or standard of the holder by means of a pin or fulcrum, upon which it moves in and out when operated upon by means of the vertical right and left screws, connected together by a link nut having right and left female screws cut on its inner periphery; one of said screws being attached to the adjustable arm or rest and the other to the standard or prong to which the adjustable arm is attached. The object of these screws and moving arm is that of allowing of either a long or short boot or shoe being made on the same Inachine without any inconvenience.

By the employment of this revolving last holder the great injury which shoe-makers suffer by being obliged to stoop and bend their backs and consequently contract their chests is avoided; and as they can either stand or sit with their chests and backs erect, and with much greater ease and convenience make and finish all kinds of boots and shoes and save their chests from injury; and also do away with the painful necessity of using their knees as standards or rests for the boots or shoes to rest upon while the shoes are being made its importance will readily be seen. And again, as this machine is constructed in such a manner as to allow of the last and holder being moved or turned aro-und to any posit-ion desired and can be used in lasting, making and finishing either pegged or sewed work, andcan also be used without any inconvenience for closing purposes, 'by securing clamps, by means of the vertical screw, to it, the great benefits arising from its use will be readily seen.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, A, represents a platform or bench, upon which the revolving horizontal shaft B, is placed.

O, O, are the bearings, secured to the bench A, in any suitable manner, in. which the horizontal revolving crank shaft or stock B, is secured and turns; these bearings are secured at each end of the bench and are constructed in the manner represented in Fig. 2, of the drawings, being composed of two parts lettered D, D, that part lettered D, being secured to the bench and the other portion D, being locked to D, in the manner shown. F, is a screw for locking the part D to D, this screw has a crank nut G, fitting on it, by means of which the boxes are kept firmly locked or can be unlocked when I-I, represents a counterbalance, attached to the shaft B.

K, is the arm of the horizontal shaft B; on the curved end of this arm a thimble .or collar L, of taper or other shape, may be cast. In this collar or thimble the taper or other shaped end M, of the last holder fits snugly, and has its bearing. On the end of the taper part M, of the holder M, N, O, P, a screw a, is cut; having a nut 2),' rthis screw and nut regulates the position of the last holder, and also secures it firmly to the arm R and collar L; for when it is desired to move the holder and last around to any position, it is only necessary for the nut to be turned and the holder revolved or moved around, and after it has been properly set, the nut must be again screwed up for the purpose of making the holder stationary while the shoe is being finished.

N, O, indicate two prongs or vertical standards which are cast with and form part of the holder M; that prong or standard lettered N, being designed as a rest for the heel portion of the last-and is made in one solid part or piece; through the ears or projecting parts c, cl of this standard a vertical screw V, passes up, and when a last is placed on the holder, this screw, by any suitable means is screwed into the last and retainsit firmly in its proper position until it is desired to change the position of the boot or shoe being made. And the other standard or prong O, (being much shorter than N,) has an arm or rest P, secured to it, by means of a fulcrum pin f, on which it moves back and Vforth or in and out, when operated upon, bymeans of the right and left screws S, T; one of which lettered S, being secured to an ear or projection g, of the arm 1^, and the other to the standard O, in the manner shown in the drawing, between these screws a space is left; this space is occupied by means of a link nut V, which has right and left female screws cut on its inner periphery. In this nut the screws S, T

necessary to lengthen the distance' between e the standard N, on which the heel portion of the last rests, and the arm or rest P, for the toe of the last; will be clearly seen by referring to Fig. 1, of the drawing, where the dotted red line indicated by a star, shows the manner in which the arm moves on its fulcrum pin f; and the dotted black line also indicated by the same star, shows the position that the arm occupies when the last is about an inch longer than the one represented in the drawing, in red lines. Y

The top parts or rests h, i; of the standard N and ari'ii 1, where the heel and toe of the last rest, are made of proper shape to suit the form of the last. The shape represented in the drawings however answers the purpose lvery well.

By bringing the holder in nearly a horizontal position, the screw which passes up vertically through the prong N, may be screwed into a pair of clamps, and hold them in an upright position convenient for closing purposes.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. The revolving stock H, B, K, L, constructed and arranged and operating in the manner substantially as, and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The revolving last holder M, N, O. attached to the revolving stock H,-B, K, L, and having an adjustable rest or arm P; the whole being constructed, arranged and operating in the manner substantially as, and for the purpose herein specified.

HENRY G. DE WITT.

Witnesses:

JONATHAN BRUNDAGE, LEWIS LAWRENCE. 

